Back to Zero
by veraciousviolinistofvirtue
Summary: "Revenge is a bitter sweet thing. You may get even for what they've done, but it will never bring your brother back." In a society of supposed fairness, murders of important figures have taken place. With a note left behind after every single one, Umeki Kazuya decides to track the murderer down to end it all, only to find herself in a twist of fate... / Criminal AU
1. Unexpected Reunion

**Knowing I've been aching to continue this, here's a repost of a story back from my old account.**

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT own Inazuma Eleven nor any of its characters. All I own are my OCs, Umeki, Amaya, a few others that may appear in the story and of course, the plot.**

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><p>Darkness engulfed the sky as night came. At times like this, everyone in the area of Inazuma Town knew it'd be best not to be out; a few incidents have occurred the past year. Three murders have taken place since, and the authorities have not gotten any evidence regarding the killer. All they knew was the fact the perpetrator would leave his or her victims in a crucified position bleeding to death, supported by a sets of knives and a note would always appear.<p>

'You took something precious away from me, and now I am merely returning the favor.'

"Umeki, you're nuts. If you get killed by whoever the guy is, do you expect me to avenge you?" The said teen's friend, Amaya said on the other line of the phone as she casually took a stroll along the streets of the place.

"I can take care of myself, hopefully." The brunette scoffed softly. "I'm not THAT stupid to get myself slaughtered."

"You better be certain, or if I hear your name on the news, you're getting a handful of nagging from me once I head to the other side, got it?"

And with that, her good friend had hung up. A sigh escaped her lips as she stopped on her tracks; the air had gotten cooler all of a sudden. Cautiously, she turned, only to see a gray and white cat pass head to an alley. Its colors reminded her of a friend of hers who had gone missing for almost two years now. Whether he was still dead or alive, she was unsure, but she felt as if things have gone wrong since then. Sure the murders took place, but that wasn't exactly it.

A gut feeling told her she already knew the killer, but she didn't want to believe it. Not now, not ever in her whole life; it made sense to her though as the killings took place months after he left. But to think that someone so sweet, so polite, so kind would ever do such a thing is just-

"To be out this late is a foolish deed, my dear. Tell me, how would you like to be put to sleep?"

The sadistic tone brought her shivers to her very core. With slight reluctance, she brought out a hunter's knife as she tried to look for the source of the voice. A mad cackle rang in her ears as she kept glancing back and forth. A hand covered her mouth in a flash, causing her to squirm under her assailant's grasp. She needed to do her best to escape this. About to attempt to stab the figure by the leg, she was fortunately successful, but it wasn't enough to make him or her let go of the female.

"Feisty, are we?" Eventually the assailant had let go of her, going in front of her swiftly and pinning her against the wall.

Such gave Umeki a better look at the figure now. From the person's build, she then concluded that the individual was male. His voice was harsh, cold and rough. He wore a dark gray hoodie, black pants, dark gloves and sneakers; his face hair was hidden due to his hood and a surgical mask. Her hazel hues observed him as he took the hunter's knife she used against him off his leg. It caused him to wince and growl from the pain, but it was as if he had gone through worse, thus, being able to withstand it.

"... Could you be the culprit?" She asked.

No response. He pointed the knife to her throat, his eyes glowed orange in what seemed to be rage and great hatred. She looked at them intently, as they seemed very familiar to her. But for such to be would be impossible as the man who supposedly had those eyes was killed three years ago in an incident along with his parents, causing the sole living member of the family to live a life of grief. As the staring continued, the man later dropped the knife; the expressions in his eyes softened as he let go of her once again.

The sound of a police car caused both of them to break from their trance. Umeki took hold of his hand and began to lead him to her place; despite the assault, despite nearly getting killed, her mind was telling her to simply follow whatever comes to mind first.

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><p>Arriving to her apartment, her companion was rather woozy from the blood loss. She gestured him to take a seat by the couch, not giving a damn if he'll stain the place with his blood. She got the first aid kit in her bedroom and went to him right after that. She cut the side of his pants, revealing the stab wound. Luckily, it wasn't as bad as she thought, but it was still a wound; it can get infected, or even cause his death if they neglected the injury.<p>

As she began to cleanse the wound and treat it, her assailant remained silent, observing her carefully at every move she made. He winced upon feeling her tighten the bandage, she's made on the affected area. To think she'd do all this for him was just so outrageous. Does she not recall the fact that he was actually planning to make her a victim? From the looks of it, not at all.

"There we go," She stated, pouring alcohol on her hands after finishing up.

He cleared his throat. "You're insane, you know that? To have a murderer in your place, aren't you scared at all? I can kill you at any moment I please."

"Well, you're not doing anything right now." She replied, leaning back on the couch. "And besides, you're still human, so yeah..."

His statement made her clarify that he indeed was the serial killer the authorities have been searching for. The only thing that questioned her from here was why he hesitated to make her a victim. That, and why he felt like a friend of hers, or an acquaintance she hasn't seen in a long time... But his eyes deemed otherwise though, unless... The doctors did say there was a slight problem with...

"Shirou...?" She stammered out, hesitantly slipping the hood off his head.

Her eyes widened in surprise as she scooted away. There was no mistaking it. Those spiky silver locks that gleam in the moonlight, his eyes stopped glowing from bright orange to turn into their natural color, blue-gray like the sky during a snowstorm. She couldn't say it was a dream; everything felt real. After all, seeing is believing... All the said teen did was gaze at her, holding her by the wrist.

To deny this happening would be something childish to do.


	2. Act on Instinct

**Fast update? Ahaha... this chapter has been on hold since I moved accounts. Hopefully, I can update fast like this in regards to the other fics. *sobs* Anyways, here's chapter two!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Inazuma Eleven or its characters; such belongs to Level-5. Umeki, a few OCs and the plot belong to me though.**

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><p>"... Umeki," The silver-haired teen replied simply.<p>

According to psychologists, there are five stages of handlng loss and death. The first stage is Denial, and then Anger, Bargaining, Depression and Acceptance follow one by one. In Umeki's case, it wasn't because of a real loss, but because the once gentle young man she knew as a friend seemed to be gone and was replaced who grew a hate for the things around him and became a notorious murderer as of date. Then it hit her, the notes from the past three kills... was the murders for vengeance? Vengeance for what exactly?

Oh how she wanted to ask him why circumstances had to be this way, but no words could escape her lips. Her hazel orbs only stared at his blue-gray ones slightly as he eventually let go of her, taking off the surgical mask that covered his mouth to confirm it all.

Perhaps now was a good time for her to call the cops on him. It was perfect; she knew him personally and had him at her place. He was waiting for her to do it. After all, she wouldn't understand the ordeals he's felt, the pain of —

"Go." The brunette said, after taking a deep breath.

Shirou could only be taken aback. "What?"

Justice was something she wanted at first when the cases were happening, but now... she didn't know anymore. She needed to have her mind cleared up from what had taken place. It was just too hard to accept things at the moment.

"Leave before I change my —"

Her words were cut short upon hearing the sound of someone knocking loudly on the apartment door. "Ms. Kazuya, yes? We'd like to speak with you. This is Investigator Henktacker; there seems to be a trail of blood that leads to your apartment."

Umeki panicked slightly as she noticed her companion grit his teeth in anger. Did he know the detective? Before she could mutter anything, a knife was yet again pointed to her throat. Now it was hard to say whether she was afraid of being accused an accomplice or getting killed.

"Shhh," Shirou glared at her. "We're getting out of here before he barges in, alright?"

All she could do was nod at what he had said. Did he seem to care about her? Considering how he hasn't killed her, maybe it was safe to assume. She pointed to the kitchen as the knocking had gotten louder. The other nodded, putting his knife away and grabbing Umeki by the wrist as they began to head to the kitchen with steady, yet discreet movements of their legs.

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><p>Beads of sweat began to form on the female's forehead as the other remained composed. It was as if all thoughts of fear and paranoia had been drained away from him. As they made it to their goal, that's when they heard the door open forcefully.<p>

"Ms. Kazuya, are you perhaps hiding something or is someone else here...?" The investigator questioned with a sinister tone.

God she wanted to scream, but one sign of any sound would get not just her, but also Shirou caught. Noticing the door by the kitchen, Shirou quickly opened it and they made a break for it. From steady sneaking, they both began to run. What mattered now was getting away to him; getting treatment for his injuy can wait once he knows their trail faded.

Breaking the silence between them, he spoke without glancing at her. "Just follow my lead, okay?"

"Where are we going?" She asked him. "We just escaped from an officer. Chances are they'll try tracking us down."

"If that's the case, then they would have found me months ago. Now, just trust me on this."

Ambivalent was what she was. Trust a murderer's word? No, he's still Shirou despite it all. She had to stop labeling him, even if he didn't seem like the same guy she played soccer with along with his younger brother, Atsuya.

"Fine, I will." She responded.

For now, the only thing that mattered to them was the fact they got away. Though it was questionable why their hunter seemed to have taken his time to get them, the silver-haired teen was still thankful; things would have been bad if the investigator had seen him and circumstances would have been more violent.

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><p>In a dark alley, they stopped. The killer winced as the wound on his leg began to bleed once more from straining his legs. Umeki panicked, getting the knife in his pocket, cutting a sleeve from her sweater and kneeling down to treat the wound once again. Wrapping it around the wound, a figure approached them. He had read hair and calculating teal eyes; unlike Shirou though, it seemed that he was capable of showing more emotions.<p>

"You didn't kill Fuyukai Suguru yet?" He asked.

"Kinda got carried away... Besides, we have company now." The latter male mentioned pointed at the female. "Meet Umeki."

Feeling the stranger's eyes on her, she quickly stood. "H-hi..." She bowed.

"Ah, so she's joining us?" The redhead inquired.

"More or less." The wounded male shrugged.

She just got away from an authority, but now they were talking about some organization? All she wanted to know what was going on right now. From what she overheard, it looks like the murders were all planned. Though... Us? That meant that Shirou wasn't the only mind behind it all, but the executor of the plans; he hardly seemed to mind though, considering that he admitted to killing the three victims.

"W-what are you two talking about? Join what?" Umeki asked.

The two males simply stated, "The New Order, of course."


End file.
